Chapter 12 of The Virginians is here in full — 325 sentences across 65 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The Virginians is here in full — 325 sentences across 65 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Let me hear about those children, child, whom I saw running about at the house where they took you in, poor dear boy, after your dreadful fall?” says Maria, as they paced the common. “Oh, that fall, Harry! I thought I should have died when I saw it! You needn't squeeze one's arm so. You know you don't care for me?”
Chapter 12 of The Virginians is here in full — 325 sentences across 65 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/65 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
belonging to or participated in by a community as a whole; public
From this reading ““Let me hear about those children, child, whom I saw running about at the house where they took you in, poor dear boy, after your dreadful fall?” says Maria, as they paced the common.”
past form of “die” — pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading “I thought I should have died when I saw it!”
causing fear or dread or terror
From this reading ““Let me hear about those children, child, whom I saw running about at the house where they took you in, poor dear boy, after your dreadful fall?” says Maria, as they paced the common.”
annoy continually or chronically
From this reading ““Oh, that fall, Harry!”
a dark region of considerable extent on the surface of the moon
From this reading ““Let me hear about those children, child, whom I saw running about at the house where they took you in, poor dear boy, after your dreadful fall?” says Maria, as they paced the common.”
past form of “pace” — walk with slow or fast paces
From this reading ““Let me hear about those children, child, whom I saw running about at the house where they took you in, poor dear boy, after your dreadful fall?” says Maria, as they paced the common.”
(of fluids) moving or issuing in a stream
From this reading ““Let me hear about those children, child, whom I saw running about at the house where they took you in, poor dear boy, after your dreadful fall?” says Maria, as they paced the common.”
to compress with violence, out of natural shape or condition
From this reading “You needn't squeeze one's arm so.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading “Let me hear about those children, child, whom I saw running about at the house where they took you in, poor dear boy, after your dreadful fall?” says Maria, as they paced the common.
later than; following
From this reading “Let me hear about those children, child, whom I saw running about at the house where they took you in, poor dear boy, after your dreadful fall?” says Maria, as they paced the common.
a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
From this reading You needn't squeeze one's arm so.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading “Let me hear about those children, child, whom I saw running about at the house where they took you in, poor dear boy, after your dreadful fall?” says Maria, as they paced the common.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “Let me hear about those children, child, whom I saw running about at the house where they took you in, poor dear boy, after your dreadful fall?” says Maria, as they paced the common.
a youthful male person
From this reading “Let me hear about those children, child, whom I saw running about at the house where they took you in, poor dear boy, after your dreadful fall?” says Maria, as they paced the common.
the work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something
From this reading You know you don't care for me?”
a young person of either sex
From this reading “Let me hear about those children, child, whom I saw running about at the house where they took you in, poor dear boy, after your dreadful fall?” says Maria, as they paced the common.
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading “Let me hear about those children, child, whom I saw running about at the house where they took you in, poor dear boy, after your dreadful fall?” says Maria, as they paced the common.
belonging to or participated in by a community as a whole; public
From this reading “Let me hear about those children, child, whom I saw running about at the house where they took you in, poor dear boy, after your dreadful fall?” says Maria, as they paced the common.
dearly loved
From this reading “Let me hear about those children, child, whom I saw running about at the house where they took you in, poor dear boy, after your dreadful fall?” says Maria, as they paced the common.
past form of “die” — pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading I thought I should have died when I saw it!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You know you don't care for me?”
causing fear or dread or terror
From this reading “Let me hear about those children, child, whom I saw running about at the house where they took you in, poor dear boy, after your dreadful fall?” says Maria, as they paced the common.
descend in free fall under the influence of gravity
From this reading “Let me hear about those children, child, whom I saw running about at the house where they took you in, poor dear boy, after your dreadful fall?” says Maria, as they paced the common.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading You know you don't care for me?”
annoy continually or chronically
From this reading “Oh, that fall, Harry!
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I thought I should have died when I saw it!
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading “Let me hear about those children, child, whom I saw running about at the house where they took you in, poor dear boy, after your dreadful fall?” says Maria, as they paced the common.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading “Let me hear about those children, child, whom I saw running about at the house where they took you in, poor dear boy, after your dreadful fall?” says Maria, as they paced the common.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Let me hear about those children, child, whom I saw running about at the house where they took you in, poor dear boy, after your dreadful fall?” says Maria, as they paced the common.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “Let me hear about those children, child, whom I saw running about at the house where they took you in, poor dear boy, after your dreadful fall?” says Maria, as they paced the common.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading I thought I should have died when I saw it!
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading You know you don't care for me?”
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading “Let me hear about those children, child, whom I saw running about at the house where they took you in, poor dear boy, after your dreadful fall?” says Maria, as they paced the common.
a dark region of considerable extent on the surface of the moon
From this reading “Let me hear about those children, child, whom I saw running about at the house where they took you in, poor dear boy, after your dreadful fall?” says Maria, as they paced the common.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Let me hear about those children, child, whom I saw running about at the house where they took you in, poor dear boy, after your dreadful fall?” says Maria, as they paced the common.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You needn't squeeze one's arm so.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading “Oh, that fall, Harry!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You needn't squeeze one's arm so.
past form of “pace” — walk with slow or fast paces
From this reading “Let me hear about those children, child, whom I saw running about at the house where they took you in, poor dear boy, after your dreadful fall?” says Maria, as they paced the common.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading “Let me hear about those children, child, whom I saw running about at the house where they took you in, poor dear boy, after your dreadful fall?” says Maria, as they paced the common.
(of fluids) moving or issuing in a stream
From this reading “Let me hear about those children, child, whom I saw running about at the house where they took you in, poor dear boy, after your dreadful fall?” says Maria, as they paced the common.
cut with a saw
From this reading “Let me hear about those children, child, whom I saw running about at the house where they took you in, poor dear boy, after your dreadful fall?” says Maria, as they paced the common.
plural of “say” — the chance to speak
From this reading “Let me hear about those children, child, whom I saw running about at the house where they took you in, poor dear boy, after your dreadful fall?” says Maria, as they paced the common.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading I thought I should have died when I saw it!
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading You needn't squeeze one's arm so.
to compress with violence, out of natural shape or condition
From this reading You needn't squeeze one's arm so.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “Oh, that fall, Harry!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Let me hear about those children, child, whom I saw running about at the house where they took you in, poor dear boy, after your dreadful fall?” says Maria, as they paced the common.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Let me hear about those children, child, whom I saw running about at the house where they took you in, poor dear boy, after your dreadful fall?” says Maria, as they paced the common.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading “Let me hear about those children, child, whom I saw running about at the house where they took you in, poor dear boy, after your dreadful fall?” says Maria, as they paced the common.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading I thought I should have died when I saw it!
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading “Let me hear about those children, child, whom I saw running about at the house where they took you in, poor dear boy, after your dreadful fall?” says Maria, as they paced the common.
at the time that
From this reading I thought I should have died when I saw it!
in or at the place that
From this reading “Let me hear about those children, child, whom I saw running about at the house where they took you in, poor dear boy, after your dreadful fall?” says Maria, as they paced the common.
the form of “who” used as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Let me hear about those children, child, whom I saw running about at the house where they took you in, poor dear boy, after your dreadful fall?” says Maria, as they paced the common.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Let me hear about those children, child, whom I saw running about at the house where they took you in, poor dear boy, after your dreadful fall?” says Maria, as they paced the common.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Let me hear about those children, child, whom I saw running about at the house where they took you in, poor dear boy, after your dreadful fall?” says Maria, as they paced the common.
Chapter 12 of The Virginians by William Makepeace Thackeray holds 325 sentences, grouped into 65 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 12 holds 325 sentences of The Virginians, unabridged, divided into 65 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The Virginians by William Makepeace Thackeray exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 325 sentences, grouped into 65 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 65 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 65 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 12 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading The Virginians by William Makepeace Thackeray on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 16603 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #8123 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #8123, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 3321 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Virginians section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Virginians to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in The Virginians, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
